Wednesday, December 06, 2006

New Game Order

Yogi Berra said, "No one goes there any more; it's too crowded." The same could be said literally about Fair Play Games, who recently had to shut down their online ordering system because of a ten-fold increase in orders this holiday season. I was actually just waiting for a couple more games to show up on their site to place a new order. They are my favorite boardgame retailer because a) they are close to me, b) they have great prices, and c) they have always been great after the sale. But with this temporary shutdown, coupled with my impatience, I was forced to go elsewhere.

Game Surplus is the closest big retailer to me, but this time they just did not have the selection. I ended up going with Funagain. They have great selection and a great website, but they always have the highest prices. For 12 games (not all mine), I paid about $30 more than I would have at Fair Play. Note that I have used all the retailers listed in my sidebar, and I am happy with all of the experiences.

O Zoo le Mio: Although I read the rules, I consider this an impulse buy. One of my favorite things about BoardGameGeek is that I tend to stumble onto information when I am not looking for it. This thread on 2p auction games brought this game to my attention. I think I overlooked it before because of the images; I thought it was more of a kids game. Assumption corrected.

Perikles: The closest retailer to Fantasy Flight Games is Fair Play. So it's not clear to me how they don't have it in stock yet, while other retailers have not only received Perikles, but have also sold out. The more reviews and session reports I read about this game, the more interested I am.

Gheos: Still the best rules/rulebook I've ever seen. The game sounds great. The only negative I've heard so far is the possibility that the epoch tiles clump. If this really becomes a problem, I'll just get 2 bags and split the epoch tiles between them.

Leonardo da Vinci: I was luke warm on this game after the first pass through the rules. I think I got bogged down trying to make sense of the asymmetrical setup (basic rules). The second time through--several weeks later--make it click for me. In games with auctions or worker placement, it's usually all-or-nothing. If you win the auction or place the worker first, you get the resource, otherwise you lose. Sometimes it's the only resource of its kind to be had. This can be very unforgiving, even in games as light as Die Saulen der Erde. I love the way Leonardo mitigates this: you can still get the resource, but it costs (more). It's also forgiving on the other end: all players who complete the same invention on the same turn get the same payment.

Medici vs Strozzi: I've had Medici on my want list since about 1360. All of the previous versions were butt ugly in one way or another. The new one is supposed to look similar to this game. Woohoo! I think the 2p solution is well-conceived.

Iliad: The one aspect I didn't really care for in Condottiere was the map. It looked nice, but it was secondary to the card play. Iliad takes the flavor of it's cousin's card play and combines it with a Magic: The Gathering kind of feeling into a nice multi-player offering.

The two games that my lack of patience forced me to forego for now were On The Underground and Yspahan. I'm sure another member of the game group will order something soon, so I'll be able to piggyback again.

Consider TimeWellSpent.org as a possible source. I go there for three reasons: I can drive to the TWS office to pick up orders (saving all shipping and handling costs); their prices are always lower than Funagain and usually as low as or lower than many other online sellers; and their service is outstanding. The owner, Dave Jones, is a great guy who plays games and is very knowledgeable about them. Just a thought for you to consider.